Chuck Berry Back Home After Falling Ill at Chicago Concert

ST. LOUIS (CBS/AP) - Rock-and-roll legend Chuck Berry has returned home after falling ill with exhaustion during a Chicago concert Saturday.

The 84-year-old performer, who was escorted from the stage, did not require hospitalization and appeared to have fully recovered, his friend Joe Edwards said.

"I think it was just exhaustion," Edwards said, noting that Berry played two shows in New York on New Year's Eve, then flew to Chicago, where he played at the Congress Theater on Saturday night.

"I think by the time the concert in Chicago got near the end, he just got tired," Edwards said.

Berry's agent, Dick Alen, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the singer "feels tired but good."

Edwards said Berry returned to his home in Wentzville, Mo., on Sunday afternoon, and that he is feeling well enough to prepare for a Jan. 19 concert at Blueberry Hill in University City, Mo. Berry has performed monthly concerts at the popular bar and restaurant that Edwards owns since 1996.

"He's in great shape," Edwards said of the singer of early rock classics such as "Johnny B. Goode," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven."

"He's very healthy. He doesn't smoke or drink. He cuts his own grass," Edwards said.

A man who attended the Chicago concert said Berry gave an erratic, out-of-tune performance. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Berry collapsed on his keyboard and didn't move for a couple minutes before he was helped offstage and checked by medics.

After a few minutes he came back, thanked the crowd and gave a brief description of what happened, then did a few steps of his famous "duck walk" before calling it a night.